The 70th annual Greenbelt Labor Day Festival will be here in just three weeks, so it is time to choose one’s best photos and artwork to enter in the Art and Photo Show, register to march in the parade, brush up a party piece to perform at the Rising Stars showcase and decide which homemade items to enter into the Retro Town Fair.
There is a new category this year for the Photo Show: Living Love and Peace. The other categories are: Proud America, Those Who Serve and Protect Us, Greener Living in Greenbelt, Landscapes (Sunrise/Sunset or other), People (Adults & Families or Children), Flowers, Wild Animals & Nature, Pets, Travel, Buildings & Architecture, Still Life/Pictorial/Abstract and Produced in a Dark Room. Ribbons for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place will be awarded separately to adults and young photographers 12 and under. Participants may enter a maximum of two photos, which must be framed and ready to hang.
The Art Show awards ribbons for various age groups in the following categories: Drawing, Painting, Sculpture/3D, Fine Crafts and Flower Arranging. For youth there is also a Prints/Collages category, and adults have the additional category of Prints/Hand-pulled/Digital as well as separate painting categories for oil, acrylic and watercolor.
Art and photos should be brought to the Community Center gym on Thursday, August 29 between 5 and 8 p.m. Judging will take place on Friday and the shows will be open to the
public on Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1 from 1 to 6 p.m., and on Monday, September 2 from noon to 4 p.m. Visitors can vote for their community favorites on Saturday and Sunday.
Everyone is invited to share one’s performance talents with the community at the Rising Stars showcase on Sunday, September 1 between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m., with the chance to win a $50, $100 or $200 prize. Preregistration is required by Sunday, August 25.
The Retro Town Fair will also take place on Sunday, September 1 from 1 to 4 p.m. on the grounds of the Greenbelt Museum house at 10-A and 10-B Crescent Road. Ribbons will be awarded in a number of categories: flowers, vegetables, baked goods, canned goods and needlework/sewing. Items should be dropped off between 10 and 11:30 a.m. that morning.
The deadline to register for the parade is Friday, August 23. The parade will take place from 10 a.m. to noon on Labor Day Monday along Crescent Road, between Greenhill Road and Southway. Organizations, clubs and other groups are encouraged to participate.
More information and links to registration forms for all these events, as well as the many other Festival activities, can be found at greenbeltlaborday.com. Get ready for bands, bingo, books, booths, BBQ and bubble tea, not to mention all the sports contests and carnival rides.
Anne Gardner is a member of the Labor Day Festival Committee.